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How I Clean Old Furniture Hardware

Have you ever bought a vintage or antique piece of furniture and the knobs and handles look like they have been around since the dawn of time?

Me too.

The thought of scrubbing all those doo-dads used to turn me off to making the purchase or if I did buy, I wouldn't reuse the knobs it came with -  I'd just buy new hardware or search in the garage for old hardware that was less cruddy looking.
Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com
These days I keep the old hardware and reuse it, I like the price of that.

The above pulls were pretty gross, all green and nasty.

My secret weapons?

White or red vinegar occasionally coupled with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, with a side of toothbrush.

Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

First I put the doo-dads in a jar of vinegar and let them soak for a day.

Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

The photo above is after the handles had already been soaking for 24 hours.  I was already pleased with their transformation even before a little scrubbing. 

When the handles went in the jar there was no shine on them.  So dull and grimy in fact, that I thought the finish on them was suppose to be that way.

I rinsed them off and gave them a quick scrub with an old toothbrush and they turned out clean and sparkly.

Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

These are heavy handles with lots of detail on both the backplate and the handle pull.

I removed them from a little oak washstand that I decided to makeover.

Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

The handles below are in the opening photo on this post, and they were all green and dirty before they went into vinegar.

Cleaning Old Hardware With Vinegar, Bliss-Ranch.com

I could probably polish them a bit more, but I like a little age to show on old stuff.

These pulls are also heavy, and when the toothbrush wasn't getting in all the grooves good enough I used the magic eraser on them.

The previously green rusted pulls came from a a small buffet that I cleaned up and partly painted over summer and it is now in my dining room.

I wasn't going to keep the buffet, but it came in the house to finish painting and it hasn't left.

Looking around it seems I've acquired a lot of junk that stopped to visit and never left.  Hmmm.....




13 comments :

  1. great tips! i have done the baking soda thing, but this looks less messy to me!

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  2. Wow that worked well! Thanks for the tip!

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  3. Wow, that vinegar was a miracle!!

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  4. I clean mine the same way! And apple cider vinegar is supposed to be good for you if you drink it. Haven't tried that, yet.

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  5. Genius. I'm going to embark on a furniture painting spree once the weather warms up. My kitchen cabinets desperately need a makeover. I was going to throw out the hardware but now I'm thinking I'm going to try this.

    Thanks Bliss

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  6. I have a bag of those ugly things...I can do this and not ruin my nails! Thanks, B!

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  7. Lots of good hints, Bliss! Pinning!

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  8. Great tips - thank you!

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  9. I will need to remember this tip! :) Linda

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  10. I use Never Dull to clean the metal pieces. Works really well. To take off some of the heavier gunk first, I'll try the vinegar at your suggestion.

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  11. That Magic Eraser is as close to magic as I have seen for cleaning. Great tips, Bliss and I won't forget the side of toothbrush!

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  12. Your house could be the most unique place for everyone. It is just a place exactly where all of the excellent recollections then lie. Furniture Hardware

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  13. good to know! I don't have any of these items around here... oh-I may have a magic eraser somewhere.

    pinned for future reference!

    gail

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